A Pretty State of Affairs
by Chrymden
Summary: 2nd Lieutenant William Mowett doesn't realise he even HAD feelings for his friend and shipmate Tom Pullings ... until he decides to pull a little practical joke on him ...


Title: A Pretty State of Affairs: Chapter 1

Author: chrymden

Pairing: Pullet hearts

Rating: This chapter's pretty PG. PG-13 for you sheltered people.

Warnings: None in this chapter.

Chapter 1

Far out to sea, the HMS Surprise sailed steadily towards it's destination, returning to its home of Port Mahon. All the men were up and about, tending to their daily duties; the carpenter with his tools, the bosun with his mate, and the captain with his maps. They were nearing it now, perhaps only a few days before land could be seen on the horizon. The officers stationed onboard stood at their place on deck, keeping their eyes on the men and their glasses on the water. They had been out to sea for so long, it wasn't just the landsmen longing for hearth and home.

Mr. William James Mowett, second lieutenant of the ship, was out enjoying the fresh breeze, tipping his hat towards Mr. Lamb as he passed on his way to the bow. He'd noticed that a certain first lieutenant had already woken and was nowhere to be seen belowdecks at the nearest crack of dawn. The man was very to-the-point when it came to his job, but he has not once gotten up before William has had to flip his hammock over. Sighting Mr. Pullings a few feet away with his back towards him, Will quieted his footsteps, moving slowly so as not to alert him of his presence. Tom hates it when he sneaks up on him, but at least it'll bring some excitement to the quiet morning mood.

'My, how it is such a calm day today,' Tom thought, taking in the salty sea breeze in a big breath. 'May William's antics rest for this one day; we are nearly home.' In that instant, said second lieutenant had removed his neck cloth, quickly tied it over Tom's eyes and pushed him towards the edge of the boat.

"I'll have you walk the plank for not setting your hammock Mr. Pullings!" Will announced. "Going about in the early morning ... sounds highly suspicious to my ears, if you should ask."

The calm morning had just indeed been killed. "Mr. Mowett, unhand me if you please, I'm in no mood for your debauchery."

"Debauchery? My dear Tom, this is not debauchery! THIS ... is debauchery." He said, reaching out to grasp one of Tom's hands, bringing it straight up to his lips and there he promptly kissed it. Mr. Pulling's eyes had been covered and quite frankly, he had no idea what just happened to his poor hand. The bustling of the men at work could still be heard, so at least no one would confuse that for something a bit more serious. Will hadn't expected things to turn out the way it had and was suddenly overcome by this shy urge to run belowdecks. William contritely released his friend's hand, retrieved his neck cloth, and hurried towards the other end of the ship, his face reddening.

Tom turned quickly, watching Will dash away, a tad pink in the ears. Raising his hand to closer inspect it, he gently ran a finger over where his friend's lips had just graced, many a thought racing to his head. 'What in the name just happened? He didn't look like he had meant to do such a thing ...' Scratching the back of his head, Tom leaned against the railing, his cheeks feeling a bit warm. Eyeing the stern, he was fighting the thought of whether or not to go after him and clear things up. After a while, Tom thought better of it and stayed put; it was a joke after all, right? Resting his lips on the same spot, he whispered, '"May the Lord's saints preserve us."

-------

Later that evening, both Mr. Pullings and Mr. Mowett attended dinner in the captain's cabin and much to their dismay, Aubrey placed them right next to each other. They had not spoken the whole day, Tom at the bow and William hiding out with Mr. Howard and the like near the starboard batteries. Most everyone but the two were raucous with drink, hearty laughter aroused in all. Jack Aubrey, red in the cheeks with glass in hand, he raised it for silence.

"Gentlemen, we shall be in Port Mahon in less than a day. I trust you'll all behave yourselves for the time we are ashore but don't lose your sea legs! I'll not have any useless men on my deck! Killick! Killick there! As a last bow, let us enjoy cake with our rum!"

Upon receieving his portion of cake, Tom raised his glass to Jack and said, "If you'll excuse me sir, I suppose I'll head off to bed early tonight. Thank you for your company Mr Howard, Mr Allen, Mr. Calamy, Dr. Maturin ... Mr. Mowett. And here's to the Surprise, for allowing us to return home safely." Emptying his glass, he up and left, leaving a wondering William behind him.

Now on deck, Tom stood still for a moment, relishing the feel of the cold night air. "Ah, how uncomfortable it was sitting next to him like that. Somehow I believe it would've been much nicer to sit alone with him." To his surprise, William had appeared from the captain's cabin; he must've excused himself as well.

"Tom," Will began, "I must apologize to you for this morning. I had only meant the plank ordeal as a bit of fun, but ... I don't know what came over me. Shamefully I must confess, throughout the course of the day ... I fear I may be ill. I think I may be--"

"--attracted to me?" Tom finished. All afternoon, he had been thinking about the same thing; letting the idea of him and Mowett together simmer in his mind. He was quite all right about it; he HAD thought of pulling his friend into the empty fo'c'sle to show him what debauchery REALLY was, but he thought better of that, remember? William nodded slightly, lowering his face in embarrassment. "Shall we find out? Will? I can kiss you without even touching your lips; we'll see, this way you'll know for certain. There, come here."

"Without touching my lips? That's impossible." He closed the distance between him and Tom and removed his hat. "Well? Let's see it then."

At that, Mr. Pullings smiled, leaned in, and pressed their lips together in a gentle kiss.

When they had finished, William's face was a bright red. "Tom! You said you would NOT touch my lips when you--"

"--I lied. You said yourself it's impossible." He replied, a silly, 'I'm-a-happy-man' smile on his face.


End file.
